thetruthaboutefca.com | The Truth About The Employee Free Choice Act & Card Check

The Hill is reporting on employer opposition to a National Labor Relations Board recess appointment of SEIU and AFL-CIO union lawyer Craig Becker, whose writings have indicated a willingness to shred workplace democracy for employees.

Here are some of the details:

Reviewing his academic writings, they argue if Becker were seated on the labor board, he would be able to

Thank goodness for the ardent defense of workplace democracy being demonstrated by the AFL-CIO, whose president writes:

On Tuesday, the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments in a case that shouldn’t even have to exist.

The question in New Process Steel v. National Labor Relations Board is whether decisions by the NLRB-the body created under the National Labor Relations Act to protect workplace democracy-are valid when the board has only two of the five members provided for in the act.

Hmm. Notice that part, “protect workplace democracy”? Interesting.

All this time we were worried that union bosses had forgotten about workplace democracy. After all, they’ve been pushing the card check bill, which would effectively eliminate secret ballot elections from the workplace and threaten an employee’s right to vote on an eventual contract proposal.

And SEIU has faced allegations by union rivals of subverting democracy for their own members of changing ballots, showing up at workers’ homes as many as five times a day to pressure them to vote for SEIU, questioning the legal status of one worker, and threatening the wages and benefits of a worker if they voted the wrong way.

Glad we’ve cleared up where they stand on workers’ rights.

UPDATE: Shopfloor’s Keith Smith writes: “It

A hard-left site is reporting:

Earlier this month, Labor Secretary Hilda Solis intimated that Craig Becker, a nominee for the currently non-functioning National Labor Relations Board, would get a recess appointment to the body. Now Tom Harkin is saying the same thing, telling CQ

There’s some fantastic theater going on as the card-check-pushing Service Employees International Union is attempting to strangle a renegade former unit in California to stop a potential exodus of dues members away from the powerful international.

Perhaps even better than the actual trial underway — SEIU says the breakaway leaders misused resources — is the recap on Huffington Post by an SEIU member who seems to write propaganda in roughly the style of Communist China.

Consider: SEIU has the “very well prepared and articulate” lawyer who “delivered his opening statement with clear oversight and transparency.” Of course, he’s only delivering justice to the former leaders who “deliberately committed acts that bring harm to the working members of SEIU-UHW when they were the officials of our union.”

They “conspired” and “devised a plan” and exhibited a “long laundry list of unethical behaviors.” Ahh, that air of fairness and objectivity comes right through! Somewhere in the annals of authoritarian propaganda a place is being made for the newcomer who shows promise.

Who’s right and who’s wrong here? Probably no one’s right and everyone’s wrong, based on the record. SEIU went on a warpath that ended up undermining its own members’ right to vote — a good reminder why Congress should not pass the Employee Free Choice Act. And the breakaway union leadership can be viewed as either good or bad depending on how one views rabid, no-holds-barred union bosses (there’s an argument that their job is to be rabid, no-holds-barred union bosses and are actually serving employees better than SEIU, which is regarded by many in the labor world as a corporate sell-out in California).

In the end, only those in the California courtroom will see what’s going on with any clarity. They will certainly only be getting spin from the Purple People Beaters’ version of Tokyo Rose.

Check out the details over at Shopfloor.org

Where have we seen this kind of play calling?

LITTLE ROCK – Jim Keet isn’t running against Mike Beebe in the Arkansas governor’s race. He’s running against Barack Obama.

Squaring off against a popular Democratic governor who’s so far been immune to his national party’s woes, Keet and Republicans are trying to nationalize the race for the state’s top elected position.

From calling on the state Legislature to reject any health insurance mandates issued by the federal government to opposing key union organizing legislation, Keet has made it clear his main target in this year’s gubernatorial election – Washington.

That was evident when Keet – a soft-spoken restaurant owner and former legislator who says he considers Beebe a friend – announced his run for governor earlier this month. Speaking at the state Capitol, Keet held up a copy of Obama’s book “The Audacity of Hope” as he laid out his campaign plans.

He complained about so-called “card check” legislation that’s stalled in Congress that would make it easier for workers to unionize, and said he was worried about the nation’s spiraling debt.

“I absolutely think that we, as a minority party, need to offer constructive ideas which address the challenges we face rather than participate in the usual political games and divisiveness we find in Washington,” Keet said.

Virginia, most notable. That’s where Gov. Bob McDonnell used his opposition to card check and cap and trade as a crucial piece of rallying the public against those measures and to his side. It was successful there, and we’ve seen several important Congressional fights across the country where the same conversation is occurring.